Barmaids and house cages
by blipdeblip
Summary: Emma Swan's life is, in short, a nightmare - well, mostly. Her boyfriend is abusive and she has to work at the local bar to make money for her, the boyfriend and 11 year old son Henry. She tries to protect Henry to the best of her ability from the nightmare of her life. Things begin to change though, when a sea captain with blue eyes arrives in town. Captain Swan AU Abusive!Neal
1. Late nights

**Author's note: Okay, I'm officially obsessed over Once Upon A Time. This idea popped into my head and there we go :P**

 **For sake of plot and telling character's apart, Neal the baby is now named James and Prince Charming is going by David. Tell me if this annoys anyone and I'll change it back.**

 **Yes I realise Neal is going to be OOC this roleplay but it's for the plot :-)**

 **(Yes, Captain Swan is now one of my many otps!)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time :-(**

 **Emma's POV**

It's a quiet evening tonight. The bar is nearly empty except for a few regular visitors, my parents, Ruby... and my son, Henry, who is currently talking avidly about the most recent book he's been reading. I only realise a moment later that he asked me something. "Sorry, I missed that," I said casually. "Can you repeat the question?"

I look up as Henry sighs in exasperation. "Mum, I knew you weren't listening to me," he whined.

I sighed and stroked his hair affectionately. "Sorry kid," I muttered apologetically. "Got caught up in my dream world, I guess. It's rare to have quiet moments like this, you know."

Henry nods and smiles gently. "I know," he mutters. "Why do you still have to be here on quiet nights like this?"

I laugh lightly at his question. "Because otherwise I won't get enough money to pay for both you and Neal. You know that." I sigh in frustration. "I wish that Neal would get a job sometimes. For more than one reason."

"What other reasons?"

I jump, letting out a little yell in surprise and look over at my mother's curious yet worried face. "Nothing mum," I mutter. "How's James?"

"James is doing very well," she says cheerfully, green eyes bright. "Your father reckons he will take his first steps soon!"

She squeaks in excitement and I smile at my mum. "That's great," I say encouragingly. "Tell him that his big sister and nephew say hi!"

"I have a better idea," she says pointedly. "Why don't the two of you come over next week for the weekend?"

I glance at Henry who's staring at me excitedly. I have to lie. "Sounds great, mum!" I say through gritted teeth. "But I'll have to ask work for days off."

"Good, I'll see you then hopefully!" Mum chirps before walking back to dad and Ruby.

"What was that?" says a familiarly sharp voice from nearby.

I start and look over to see Regina at the counter. "Hello to you, too!" I mutter, facing her fully. "What was what?"

Regina was one of the rarer customers but, like most customers, we had formed a kind of friendship. Sure, it was one of my most unstable friendship I have - at times we could barely looked at each other in the face as we were so angry at each other - but there were still good conversations we had in the past. "You know what," Regina states. "You lying to your own mother."

"I don't have to tell my parents everything, thank you," I reply casually. "The usual?"

Regina nods and I grab a shot glass, pouring tequila into it and passing it to her. She mutters a thank you and drinks the shot quickly. She looks over at Henry and smiles. "Hey Henry," she greets.

"Hi Regina," Henry chirps. Regina has a better friendship with my son that she has with me. Not sure why. Sure, she was sceptical when seeing him here on her first visit but eventually got used to him. I often take Henry with me to work so he could have some time away from home.

"What are yo-" Regina stops and tenses up mid-sentence. Her eyes narrow at me and she points to my neck. "Is that a bruise?" she asks sharply.

My eyes widen fractionally and clasp a hand to the side of my throat. I sould have realised that Regina would notice as soon as she entered. She's more perceptive than the majority of the bar's visitors. "Yeah, but it's no big deal," I say, desperately trying to sound casual. Regina looks at me in disbelief. "Really," I insist. "I fell over and I hit my neck on a table leg."

It's a terrible lie and she knows it. Thankfully, she decides to leave the topic. "Maybe try not to be so clumsy next time then," she mutters pointedly.

"Yes, your majesty," I say mockingly, with a fake bow. Regina rolls her eyes but can't help but smile a little. I take the time to try and hide the bruise with my hair.

Ruby returns to the counter with an empty tray. "Okay, Em, your shift's up," she informs me cheerfully, pointing to the clock. 9:00pm, as Ruby said, the end of my shift. "Pack up, get your ass out from behind the counter and get out of here!" she teases.

"Good to know I'm appreciated!" I retort playfully, putting the tequila bottle back on the shelf. Ruby laughs, playfully swatting my shoulder as she takes my place behind the counter. I sigh. "Come on, Henry," I mutter.

Henry nods and says goodbye to Regina and Ruby before following me out of the bar.

 **Page break**

The house is eerily silent when we get home, but the light that shone from the landing signalled that Neal was still awake. I close the door after Henry steps through and I step forwards slowly. "Okay, Henry, you know the drill," I say quietly. "Straight to bed, not a single sound."

I look down at him as he looks up at me. His brow furrows. "Has this got anything to do with the yelling I hear sometimes?" he asks innocently.

I sigh. "Just go to bed, Henry," I say quietly but firmly. He nods reluctantly and carefully sneak upstairs. I walk after him as quietly as possible and wait on the landing to make sure he's in his bedroom. As he opens the door he turns around to face me and mouths a quick good night.

"Good night, love you," I mouth back at him and he slips through the door, closing it behind him quietly. With a sigh, I walk into the bedroom I share with Neal.

"Good evening sweetheart," Neal says as I enter the room. He's lying on top of the bed, clothes on including his dirty, black leather shoes. "How was work?"

"Work was okay," I force out, slipping out of my shoes. "A bit slow this evening but Regina turned up at the end. What did you do this evening? Watched more television?"

Neal narrows his eyes at me but doesn't move. "What else?" he asks in that dangerously quiet voice of his.

 _Tread carefully, Emma,_ I mentally warn myself. _No need for Henry to ask more questions._

"Oh, nothing," I say reluctantly. "It's just that it's all you ever seem to do."

Big surprise, I got it wrong. This only makes Neal angrier. Next thing I know he's off the bed and slapping me across the face. I'm taken off guard, as usual, and I stumble backwards blindly, falling backwards and hitting the back of my head against the wall with a yelp. "Stop!" I say pitifully, I know it's useless. "Henry might hear."

"So?" Neal spits kicking me in the side. I cry out in pain before biting my lip to try and stifle the sounds.

"So?" I gasp, trying to steal a breath. "He's your son! Don't you care about your own flesh and blood?"

"The only reason he's still here is because you insisted," Neal sneers in reply, kicking me again. I cough hoarsely, trying to breath.

No matter how much I protest, he doesn't stop. The last thing I remember is fist colliding with my nose before everything goes black.

 **Page break**

"Mum?"

I groan, opening my eyes to see Henry crouched in front of me, hazel eyes full of worry. "Hey kid," I mutter. A wave of pain hits me almost immediately and I wince, groaning loudly. Next come the memories. Neal started hitting me again and I must have passed out eventually. The light shining through the window tells me that it's now morning.

"Mum!" Henry says in panic. "Are you alright? Did dad...hurt you?"

I nod slowly. There was no point lying to him about this anymore. "Your father's...changed, Henry," I said softly. "He's not the man I used to know."

Each word hurts as it leaves my throat but it doesn't compare to the pain I feel as Henry's face falls. I wince, as I move to get up from the position I'm in. "Mum, what are you doing?" he asks, snapping back to reality.

"To...get help," I mutter, slipping my feet into my shoes. Only now do I see the damage Neal did last night. My arms are almost completely black and blue at the shoulders, my nose is broken and there's another bruise on my neck. It's too high up to hide under a shirt, so I move my hair to hide it to the best of my ability.

"Help? Where from?" Henry asks curiously. "Can I come?"

I sigh and look down at him. "Yeah, you can come," I say eventually. "But stay near me, alright?"

Henry nods and watches me as I pull my read leather jacket over my shoulders. I offer him my hand and he takes it tentatively, offering me a supportive smile. I smile back gratefully before leading him out the room and out of the house.

 **Thoughts?**


	2. Late mornings

**Author's Note: Whoa, wasn't expecting this to be so popular! Thank you :-)**

 **I've decided that the whole story will be in Emma's POV. If this story is a success then I'll write a version in Killian/Hook's POV.**

 **Also, Henry's 11 in the story :-)**

 **Many characters will be OOC. I'm sorry about that!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

I walk hurriedly down the street, looking down most of the time. The last thing I wanted was to make eye contact with anyone I knew. Henry was silent, holding onto my hand like it was a lifeline even though the street is almost empty. "Mum, where are we going?" he asks eventually.

"Ruby's house," I answer quickly, looking from side to side while waiting to cross the road. After a minute, I tug his hand and cross the road.

Henry's silent for the duration of the journey. I knock on the familiar red door. About two minutes later, Ruby opens the door. "Emma!" she says in shock before noticing a bruise on my collarbone. She looks down and notices Henry and ushers us inside quickly. She closed the door behind us and turns on me. "What happened?" Ruby hissed quietly, glancing at Henry. "Did _he_ do anything to..."

"What, to Henry?" I sighed. "No, he didn't. I just said the wrong thing as always."

Ruby sighed and gestured for us to follow her. Henry tugs my hand lightly. "Mum, how does Ruby know about dad?"

"When it started she noticed a bruise and after a while, as I got bruises in weirder places, she put the pieces together and confronted me," I explain, quietly "She helps me when Neal gets particulary violent." Henry nods and I follow Ruby into the kitchen.

"Does Henry really need to see this?" Ruby asks as we walk in. She's already got the first aid kit out and she's busy filling a bowl with warm water.

"I want to stay here," Hery said stubbornly. "She's my mum!"

"Henry, can you wait in the living room while we do this?" I ask him. Henry turns and looks up at me. He opens his mouth to protest. "Henry..." I say, trying to plead with using my eyes. "Please?"

"Fine," he sighs eventually, walking out of the kitchen.

After he left, I turned to Ruby and sighed. "Let's just get this other with," I mutter. "Neither of us likes this, and things are gonna get complicated now that Henry's found out."

"Speaking of," Ruby says, gesturing for me to take my jacket off. "How did he find out?"

"Last night it got so bad I must've blacked out. Truthfully, I don't remember everything, but Henry found me before I woke up. I...couldn't lie to him when the evidence against that lie was right under his nose," I explain, pushing my jacket off of my shoulders.

Ruby gasps at the bruises on my shoulders. "Is this is as bad as it gets?" she asked, trying to sound formal but the voice cracks slightly with shock and worry.

I shake my head. "He kicked me a few times in the stomach and I hit the back of my head against the wall when I fell down," I say quietly, staring at the ground.

She breathes in shakily and nods. She moves her hand to pull up the edge of my shirt. "May I...?" she asks tentatively. I sigh and close my eyes, trying to dismiss the tears that are beginning to blur my vision. Wordlessly and gently, Ruby pulled the piece of clothing up and I slipped my arms out of the sleeves. As the shirt came off, Ruby just stared at my stomach. "Oh my god..." she sputters out.

I look down at my own stomach and sigh in frustration. He never stops, does he? There are about three large bruises on my abdomen but look like one big one. "Just get this over with Ruby," I sigh irritably.

Ruby nods and grabs a nearby soaks the cloth in the water and begins washing the bruises and the few cuts on my skin.

 **Page break (Honesty time, this is here cos I don't know what to write for this part. Otherwise this chapter would be super long XC)**

It takes about 20 minutes for Ruby to finish which passed by agonizingly slowly in silence. Once she's finished, I slide my shirt and and jacket back on and walk out of the room. I find Henry in the living room, reading one of Ruby's books. He looks up as I enter the room and immediately puts the book down. He runs over and hugs me with a bit too much enthusiasm. I hiss slightly. "Hey kid," I force out, trying to ignore the slight pain.

Henry, recognizing the fact that it hurts, stops hugging me and instead just grabs my hand. Ruby, who had walked up behind us without me knowing, taps my shoulder. "Hey," she says, gently. "I realize that you might not want to go home today so," she pauses, "During the day my grandmother runs a restaurant. Maybe for today you might want to help out to avoid, you know, _him_."

I think for a second. "What about Henry?" I ask. "I'm not leaving him in the house alone."

"I could go to Regina's?" Henry suggests, looking hopeful. He loves Regina's house a lot.

I shrug my shoulders and look at Ruby. She shakes her head at me and I frown while I think it over. "That sounds perfect, actually," I say eventually.

Henry grins and hugs me again but more gently. "Thanks mom!" he says cheerfully.

"Emma, are you sure?" Ruby asks incredulously. "She's known as 'the Evil Queen' for a reason - because she's known for not being very nice."

"Ruby, relax," Itell her. "Regina loves Henry nd having him over her house. She thinks of him as the son she could never have!"

Ruby sighs in frustration but concedes. "Alright, let's go!" she says eventually. "We'll drop by Regina's on the way!"

 **Page break**

Regina's house is huge. I think that every time I come here. Mostly as I don't come here often. Henry runs up the path ahead of meand knocks on the front door. "Whoa, slow down," I laugh, hurrying to catch up with him. The door swings open, revealing a rather tall lady wearing a black shirt with long sleeves and a matching black skirt with red hair and blue eyes. "Who are you?" I ask as I've never seen her here before.

"I could say the same about you, dear," the woman replies, rolling her eyes. "I'm Zelena, Regina's older sister."

"Strange, she never mentioned she had sister," I comment.

"I get the exact same reaction every time," she mutters to herself. "Now, who are you?"

"Emma," I say back, wanting to get this conversation over with. There was something off about Regina's older sister in my opinion. "Where's Regina?" I ask politely.

Zelene huffs and turns away. "Regina, there's someone here for you," she calls out monotonously.

I instinctively tug Henry away from the door and Zelena. "Henry, wht are you doing here?" Henry dashes away from me and over to Regina quickly. Regina smiles at him nd looks up at me. "Miss Swan, what can I do for you this fine day?" she asks.

"I came to ask if you could look after Henry for the day?" I explain, keeping an eye on Zelena who stands at the side, watching us.

Regina follows my gaze to Zelena. "I see you've had the pleasure of meeting my sister," she mutters. She shakes her head. "No matter," she dismisses quickly. "I'll be very happy to look after Henry for the day."

"That's great," I say gratefully. "I'll be back around six?" Regina nods in agreement. "Okay, bye kid, have fun!"

"Bye mom!" Henry calls out as I walk back down the path. The front door closes behind me with a firm click.

 **Lots of page breaks. Sorry :-(**

It turns out the restaurant that Ruby told me about is just a diner called _Granny's_. Her grandmother, known as Granny Lucas or just Granny, gave me permission to work as a waitress for the day. "You sure you'll be okay?" Ruby asks for about the hundredth time.

I roll my eyes at her through the mirror as I pin a badge where I have scribbled my name onto my shirt. "For the last time Ruby," I say in exasperation. "I will be _fine!_ "

"Okay," Ruby mutters, seeming to finally get the point. "You know you don't have to come in tonight after this, right?"

Ruby, you should know by now that I have to work as much as possible," I tell her firmly. Without another word, I walk straight past her, back into the diner...

..and straight into a man wearing dark clothing.

"Hey, watch where you're-" I start saying before I look up and see some of the bluest eyes I've ever seen.

 **This chapter took forever to write! I don't know why. Yes, Zelena is here. I like Zelena a lot X3**


End file.
